Dolphin Pool Robot Cleaner - how important is for them to clean water lines? Comparisons..

[tsar]

Hi I'm looking into buying one of the following. I'm looking to understand if it's worth the extra $$$, and one of the functionalities seem to be to clean water lines... how important is that (total newbie here)

- Dolphin Nautilus CC - 629$
- Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus ( main addition seems to be the tangle free cord? is that worth it) - 849$
- Dolphin Triton ( waterline cleaning) - 949$ (might go for this if I'm going for Nautilus CC Plus?)

- Dolphin Premier - Seems like a splurge, but again how much better is it. - 1450$

Looking to hear back from folks...

 

[tsar]

Also how do folks generally clean the waterline if not through these robots? I have an in-ground gunite salt water pool. Just curious...

 

[HermanTX]

Also how do folks generally clean the waterline if not through these robots? I have an in-ground gunite salt water pool. Just curious...

I do not have a robot but what I read on the forum is that the waterline tile cleaning is more marketing than actual performance. But I let others that have robots comment on that.
During the summer, I have a hand brush (you can purchase pool store) that I go around the entire pool when I am swimming to keep the tile clean. In the winter, I simply take a pool brush and do the best I can to clean it every couple of weeks.

 

[rcs29]

Hi I'm looking into buying one of the following. I'm looking to understand if it's worth the extra $$$, and one of the functionalities seem to be to clean water lines... how important is that (total newbie here)

- Dolphin Nautilus CC - 629$
- Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus ( main addition seems to be the tangle free cord? is that worth it) - 849$
- Dolphin Triton ( waterline cleaning) - 949$ (might go for this if I'm going for Nautilus CC Plus?)

- Dolphin Premier - Seems like a splurge, but again how much better is it. - 1450$

Looking to hear back from folks...

Dolphin Trtiton, Dolphin Advantage Plus, and Dolphin Proteus DX 4 are all the exact same just branding. If you go to their site you'll soon find out they have multiple robots that are identical in function and just rebranded for their wholesaler. I was blown away that they had like 40 models but only like a dozen or so in reality. In fact I got my extra fine filters by searching for Triton compatible filters.

 

[tsar]

Dolphin Trtiton, Dolphin Advantage Plus, and Dolphin Proteus DX 4 are all the exact same just branding. If you go to their site you'll soon find out they have multiple robots that are identical in function and just rebranded for their wholesaler. I was blown away that they had like 40 models but only like a dozen or so in reality. In fact I got my extra fine filters by searching for Triton compatible filters.

so which one would you suggest? does your triton do the walls?

 

[rcs29]

so which one would you suggest? does your triton do the walls?

Yes very good on floors and walls. Waterline, benches or ledges it's not very effective. If you don't have those then it's great. Are your steps under more than 12" of water? If so then it'll even be good for those. The problem with the robots is that they rely on enough surface water for their propulsion systems. Not enough water means they won't be able to operate effectively. To be clear I have the Advantage Plus from Doheny's only because I freaked out when all the Tritons and DX4's were out of stock.

 

[nwardoh]

I bought a Pentair prowler 920 yesterday. It is the same as the triton and others listed except it comes with the ultra fine panels as well which the dolphins do not. It did well with the water line on the first clean. It did amazing on the bottom. really good machine. Just get whichever version you can get the cheapest.

 

[tphaggerty]

I have a Triton PS that does the walls and waterline. In any given session it probably only does about 20% of the waterline or less. I guess over time it does the whole thing. Not sure that is worth it and I wouldn’t go out of my way specifically for that feature. What I do like about the Triton over the Nautilis is that it has a single basket. I used my neighbors Nautilis before buying the Triton and I really like how easy it is to clean the single basket.

This is my second season with the Triton, originally I was trying to get an S200, but they were not available last year anywhere and the Triton was. I’m coming from about 14 years of using a pool Rover, so quite a bit different. I wasn’t sure I would like all of the scrubbing, but the pool definitely seems to be much cleaner.

 

[Jimrahbe]

tsar,

Everyone is different, so there is no one answer.

But in my case, I would not buy one that does not scrub the water line tile.

EDIT.. Maybe I should clarify that.. I have owned several robots over the past 15 years. All of them cleaned the water line tile. The older ones were not very good at it and were pretty hit and miss. The three robots I have today are all the newer Dolphin S200 "style" of robot and have a much better ability to clean the tile line. The older units did not stay at the tile line long and would only move sideways a little before falling back into the pool. The newer robots, like the S200, blows water out the back of the robot to help hold the robot against the tile, and at the same time, blows water out of one of the side vents which causes the robot to move along the tile line. They move about 3 or 4 feet before falling back into the pool. By no means is it perfect, and this action is not going to remove scale, but it is way better than it used to be.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[reggiehammond]

Hi I'm looking into buying one of the following. I'm looking to understand if it's worth the extra $$$, and one of the functionalities seem to be to clean water lines... how important is that (total newbie here)

- Dolphin Nautilus CC - 629$
- Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus ( main addition seems to be the tangle free cord? is that worth it) - 849$
- Dolphin Triton ( waterline cleaning) - 949$ (might go for this if I'm going for Nautilus CC Plus?)

- Dolphin Premier - Seems like a splurge, but again how much better is it. - 1450$

Looking to hear back from folks...

The two basket setup of the Nautilus is a poor design. I originally bought one, but returned it after 2 days. Too frustrating, not enough capacity.

Any of the top load single basket models are great. I don’t know how well the waterline scrubbing works, but I also don’t ever brush my pool. The robot is that good.